When Agnieszka Holland was given early pages from Solomon Perel's unfinished memoirs about surviving the Holocaust, she was immediately taken by it. The fact that it was about a young Jewish boy who stayed alive by hiding out as one of the Hitler Youth among other things was fascinating to her, but it was his lack of embellishing and complete honesty that drew her in. Thus began her journey in making a film based on his experiences. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we kick off a series about the works of Agnieszka Holland with her 1990 film Europa Europa.

We talk about how the nature of this story and how it's done very much in a Pilgrim's Progress style, and why it works for this coming of age story. We chat about Holland adapting the story to not just focus on the tragic but also be playful. And we look at reactions and why some people may have had issues with the telling of this story.

It's a powerful, wonderful story and we have a great time chatting about it on this week's show. Check it out and tune in! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins.

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